Rose Ferrero Bulletin
October 4-15, 2021
This week, Kudos go out to our Employees for the Month of October. Pictured on the left is our Classified Employee of the Month, Lily Valenzuela, our Kindergarten DLI Instructional Aide. Lily returned to us this school year, after being away from us last year, and boy, are we ever glad to have her back! She has already established strong and trusting relationships with all the students she serves as well as helps the Kinder DLI teachers with everything they need to ensure the day runs as smoothly as possible. In addition, Miss Lily is one of those staff members who will lend a hand by doing anything and everything she is asked to do – tasks that go above and beyond her job description … and that’s what makes her so valuable. Pictured on the right is Carolanne Moreno, one of our Transitional Kinder teachers. In total, Mrs. Moreno has been teaching for 29 years, with the past 11 years being here at Rose Ferrero. Mrs. Moreno was the first Junior Kindergarten teacher we had but has been a Transitional Kindergarten teacher for as long as I have been here. When asked, Mrs. Moreno will tell you that she enjoys seeing the development process that all her students go through … that throughout the year, she is able to see them grow immensely. In addition, Mrs. Moreno enjoys working with the parents of her students, as for many of them, it is their “introduction” to the public school system (as parents). To both of you, this month's recognition is far overdue, but we all know in our hearts just how valuable you are to Rose Ferrero and our students. Congratulations!
QUOTES OF THE WEEK WE SHARED WITH OUR STUDENTS
LCAP GOAL 2: PROFICIENCY FOR ALL – Interesting “Push Back” Regarding the New California Mathematics Framework
However, in a recent blog post, Boaler describes how, to some, change is hard, and the ideas expressed in the new framework have met with opposition. Though Boaler claims that she “understand this” because over her career, she “has had a lot of experience with those who oppose making mathematics more equitable”. But what is most surprising to her, and many of her readers, is that one of the current forms of opposition is a letter signed by STEM academics. According to Boaler, “Many (of those who signed the opposition letter) did not know what they were signing and were pressured to do so.” It appears that the letter writers are particularly opposed to the recommendations of the framework that are oriented towards equitable outcomes. Boaler writes, “They argue that the modern world of science and technology arose because societies learned to value ‘inquiry that was disinterested (i.e., objective and neutral), rational and coherent’ and that mathematics should not be used to address social inequities, as that is a distraction from ‘actual mathematics’.” They also say that the framework should not focus on “contributions that historically marginalized people have made to mathematics”, as that would not be the mathematics that has “been essential to the academic discipline of mathematics.” Boaler also goes on to share that their letter contains other worrying statements that show their disregard for equitable initiatives and a complete lack of understanding of mathematics teaching and learning – and the rather worrying assumptions that STEM academics should dictate what happens in schools.
As Boaler puts it, “This is an important moment in history and I am excited for our youcubians to contribute to the important changes that are being made. Viva La Maths Revolution!”
LCAP GOAL 5: Support For Teachers – Leave Them All Behind: Teaching Practices that Need to Be Forgotten
Schools across the country have welcomed students back into the classroom, and for teachers who spent months adapting to virtual lessons, this fall presents yet another challenge to readjust to new circumstances. However, in a time of so much change, achieving it doesn’t have to mean reverting to pre-pandemic teaching practices. The U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, was recently quoted as saying, “If our goal is simply to go back to where we were before March 2020, we’ll miss the chance to forge opportunity and needed progress from this crisis.” Thus, as schools address instructional gaps from this past year, educators should weed out methods that are no longer (or maybe never were) serving their purpose. At Rose Ferrero, we believe this as well, and that is because we attribute our academic growth not only to our implementation of research-based best instructional practices, but also ceasing all the ineffective practices of the past.
In their new ASCD book, Why Are We Still Doing That? Positive Alternatives to Problematic Teaching Practices, authors Pérsida and William Himmele take aim at 16 common classroom practices that may be worth replacing. From the beginning, the authors acknowledge that it can be difficult for educators to recognize when particular strategies aren’t helping. “Most teachers spend about 13,000 hours in the classroom as students before they graduate high school. That’s a lot of hours soaking up habits that they will later consciously or unconsciously perpetuate, even after learning about best practices in college or university,” they write. That said, the book’s straightforward, research-driven analysis provides a clear view of which seemingly effective methods actually fail in practice. Some are well-known, and although experts have critiqued their use for years, are still being used in most classrooms. The full list comprises:
• Round robin reading
• Teaching to learning styles
• Homework as the default
• Using interim assessments as “formative assessments”
• Asking, “Does everybody understand?”
• Traditional Q&A
• Data-driven everything
• Publicly displayed data walls
• Content breadth over depth
• Adhering to rigid pacing guides
• Teaching to the test samplers
• An analysis-only approach to reading
• Shortchanging science and social studies
• Ignoring curriculum experts
• Using behavior charts
• Withholding recess (for academic reasons)
To be clear, the Himmeles’ book isn’t a takedown. The authors use an empathetic lens to analyze each of these approaches and spotlight their problems. No teacher is perfect, and the Himmeles, as former educators and school administrators, have plenty of experience making mistakes and learning from them. Now, they’re sharing their insight. Educators who are apprehensive about saying goodbye to teaching strategies they’ve used for years need not worry—the authors explain how to meet the goals these less effective methods were intended to achieve. For example, round robin reading activities can cause anxiety and cut down on each student’s time practicing literacy skills, but choral or shared reading are promising alternatives. Behavior charts are easily rigged and can function as a form of public shaming but investing in social-emotional learning and restorative practices can more effectively soothe challenging students and decrease disruption.
As the Himmeles write, teaching is already a humbling experience. Despite the training so many educators undergo, stepping in front of a full classroom every day opens up a world of uncertainty. On the most difficult days, it’s easy to feel like a bad person, not just a bad teacher, they write. To counter those mental challenges, they share four key takeaways:
• We all have choices.
• Our choices have side effects.
• We all need grace.
• We need one another.
Three Reminders for the First Week of October:
1). Teachers: Please remember to use the What, Why, & How regarding your Learning Targets at some point in every lesson … explaining to students What we are going to learn, Why we are going to learn this, and How they (the students) will know when they have learned it.
2). Teachers: Please remember to be outside on the yard for the 10 minutes of Yard Duty you share with your Grade-level Team. Sometimes we are short Pupil Supervisors, and we are counting on your presence out on the yard to keep our students safe. Thanks.
3). Teachers: Please remember to check your mailboxes periodically – at least once before lunch. And on that note, check your email from time to time as well. Thanks.